Thank Merlin for Lily Evans!
by bluelily42
Summary: Lily Evans has protected the marauders more times than she cares to admit.
1. Chapter 1

"Divination is so booooooring!"

"You've said that already Sirius. About fifteen times." sighed Remus.

"Well now I'm saying it again. Because I'm booooooored! Entertain me Moony!" Sirius was laying dramatically across the table.

Unfortunately, the professor heard him.

"Have you thought of entertaining yourself by actually looking into the crystal ball Mr Black?" she snapped. "Five points from Gryffindor. Mr Lupin, have you been paying attention? Tell me what you see."

Remus sighed and glared down at the crystal ball. He was about to say that he saw nothing, but then a blurry shape caught his eye.

"Aha! You see something! What is it?"

"I have no idea professor."

"Let me see." she moved to stand by Remus, gazing intently into the crystal ball.

"Ah. I see suffering, yes and - what's this? The moon! You should be wary of the moon this week Mr Lupin." The marauders looked horrified, none of them knowing what to do. The professor continued "And, look here, I see-"

She was cut off by a loud crash. All eyes in the room turned to look for the source of the sound and saw none other than Lily Evans leaping to her feet. "Oh my gosh! I am so _sorry _professor! I leaned on the table to get a closer look - I thought I saw something you see - and it just fell off!"

The professor looked mildly annoyed, but decided she was more curious about what Lily had seen. "That's quite all right my dear. Just take another from the side over there, that's right. Now, tell me, what do you see?"

The four marauders all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank Merlin for Lily Evans." declared James.

Remus was in deep thought.

"What's up Moony?"

"I think she knows."

"Knows what?"

"About me."

"Oh. But...how?"

"I guess it must be more obvious than we thought." Remus sighed.

"Well, it is Lily, she's like, super smart." mused Sirius.

"Thank you for that observation Padfoot."

"Could it just be a lucky coincidence?" asked Peter.

"No, Sirius is right. This is Lily."

"Are we going to confront her?"

"I suppose we'll have to. We need to know how much she knows and how she knows it, so no one else will work it out."

"We'll be there to support you Moony."

"Don't go all sappy on us now, Sirius."

"Me? Sappy? NEVER!"

After class, Sirius cornered Lily and her friends leaving the classroom.

"Lily, we need to talk." he insisted.

Lily guessed from his unusually serious expression what it must be about. She had been expecting a confrontation after her stunt in Divination, but she had hoped that it wouldn't come until she was alone. She knew her friends would interrogate her about this later.

"Yes we do. I'll see you guys later."

Sirius dragged her into a secret corridor and she waited whilst James cast a silencing charm.

The atmosphere was unusually sombre. After a painful minute or two of silence, Lily decided to cut to the chase.

"I'll spare us all the awkward silence, yes, I know that Remus is a werewolf. I also know that you guys are animagi." Lily smiled reassuringly at Remus.

He sighed, "I hoped that this wouldn't happen. How did you know?"

"I worked it out a while ago. The symptoms are all there, it was only a matter of noticing them."

"When?"

"I began to suspect something way back in second year, but I worked it out when were were both made prefects. I only found out about them recently though."

"You've known all this time... Why didn't you say anything?"

She shrugged "I figured that it was none of my business. If you wanted me to know, you'd tell me yourself. Of course when it looked like she was going to tell everyone, I couldn't just let her."

"Why? You could have gotten in trouble, you know how she is when she thinks she's predicting something."

"It would have been worth it. You're my friend Remus. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my friends and you definitely don't deserve everything that would come with this getting out."

Remus nodded slowly, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Remus I want you to know that it doesn't matter." she said determinedly.

"What?" he looked up in shock.

"It doesn't matter. Not to me. You're still the same boy I've known for seven years, werewolf or no. You're my friend and I'm not just going to abandon you. This changes nothing." she gave an encouraging smile.

He was silent for a while. "Thanks Lily." he murmured "You have no idea what this means to me so...thanks." he smiled nervously.

"Do you think anyone else will be able to work it out?" asked James, his voice surprisingly harsh.

"Well, I think Severus knows already, but he hasn't said anything to anyone but me. I've been quite dismissive, but he's still trying to drop hints, he doesn't know that I know. He only tried to tell me outright once."

"He knows. No thanks to someone." James turned to glare at Sirius, who hung his head.

"But I don't think anyone else will work it out, it's not obvious. I only did because I spend so much time around you."

There was silence. Three of the marauders had said all they needed to, but Sirius looked like he wanted to say something else. Lily turned to him expectantly, "Is this the part where you threaten to send me to Mungos for the rest of my life if I tell anyone?"

He grinned sheepishly, "Usually I would, but I guess I don't have to anymore."

Lily smiled. "All right then. We should get to class."

**A/N**

**So here is the first chapter in what will hopefully be a collection of short one shots where Lily protects or covers up for the Marauders for one reason or another...maybe she doesn't hate them as much as she thinks she does? I hope you like it and I'll try and get the next one up soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

The marauders, minus Remus, crept along the corridor towards the door. It was a full moon and they were on their way to meet him. They had left the invisibility cloak and the map in their room. Unfortunately, this did mean that they were essentially going blind. Everything was going well until "Potter! Black! Pettigrew! What do you think you're doing?" All three of them jumped and turned around slowly. It was Theo Morris, a hufflepuff prefect. "Well, we were just...on our way back from...the library. We didn't realise how late it had gotten." replied Sirius, thinking quickly.

"That's likely. I bet you've never even set foot in a library Sirius Black. Either way, you were all out after curfew, so that will be a detention for all of you. Now come with me, I will make sure you all find your way back to the Gryffindor tower."

He missed the panicked looks exchanged by the marauders, because at that moment, Lily Evans turned the corner.

"What's going on here?"

"Oh, hi Lily. I just caught these boys sneaking around after curfew. Supposedly coming from the _library_." Lily raised an eyebrow and struggled to keep the smirk off her face, knowing full well why they were out. James gave her a pleading look.

"Well, why don't I escort them back to the Gryffindor tower? I'm going there now, our shift has just finished."

He looked slightly relieved and to be honest, who wouldn't? Even the teachers didn't like dealing with the Marauders. "Oh, would you? Thanks, Lily."

"No problem, see you tomorrow Theo."

"Bye."

After he had walked away, Lily turned to the marauders.

"The library huh? I thought you were supposed to be good at excuses."

"Lily-" James pleaded urgently, desperately hoping he could get out of being escorted back to the common room.

"You wouldn't normally need it but have any of you considered learning the disillusionment charm?"

They stared at her, confused.

"It would be useful for avoiding situations like this again, I won't always be here. Anyway, I can't get you out of the detention, not that you probably care, but I won't take you back to the common room. You should probably hurry, it'll be dark soon." she turned and strode away and as they watched her go, Sirius said, "Come on, or we'll be late to meet Remus. Thank Merlin for Lily Evans huh?"


	3. Chapter 3

Lily was walking down an empty corridor, alone. Snape was walking in the opposite direction. When they passed each other, he grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. She wrenched it out of his grip, scowling at him. "What do you want, Severus?"

"Lily, you have to listen. This is important."

"What?" she snapped, her voice hard and cold as shards of ice.

"I know you don't want to believe it but, Lupin-"

Lily rolled her eyes, letting exasperation show in her voice.

"I've heard your theory Severus and I don't want to hear it again. Please leave me alone. If that is all you have to say, then I need to get to charms-"

"Will you just listen to me!" he pleaded "You're smart Lily, look at the signs. It was a full moon last night wasn't it? And oh look, where's Lupin today? Visiting his mother - just like last month, and the one before that and every bloody month before that! Have you noticed how touchy Potter and his friends become when the subject comes up? Have you noticed how ill he looks in the days leading up to a full moon? Of course you have, but you just-"

"That's ENOUGH!" she yelled. "I know you hate the marauders, but that's no reason to-"

"So, you're siding with the marauders now? You're defending them? I thought you were better than that. You know what they're like. Potter-"

"Potter has nothing to do with this, he is a prat. Remus is not and he doesn't deserve people like you, poking around and trying to ruin his life with your rumors. So no, I'm not defending the Marauders," she argued, "I'm defending Remus. And I'm only siding with them in this particular instance because it's the right thing to do and you're just being a-"

"You just don't want to believe that he's a monster. You're blinded by-"

Lily whipped round and shouted at him, "Remus is not a monster! He's my friend. I won't have you talk about him like that! You should know by now that I won't stand by and let people talk shit about my friends."

Snape looked taken aback for a second, he wasn't used to her swearing. Then he said, "I was your friend too, and you never stop them when they-"

"But I tried to defend you didn't I? And look at the thanks I got for it!"

"I don't know what you want me to say Lily, I've apologised for it. I wish I could take it back. I've told you, I was angry at Potter and-"

"You leave Potter out of this! What happened that day, Severus, that's on you! Nobody made you call me that. Nobody made you think that way. It's your fault, so don't try and blame anybody else!" she turned on her heel and stormed away. A moment later, so did he. Neither of them noticed the three marauders hiding under an invisibility cloak.

"I feel like we shouldn't have heard that. It sounded private."

"Shh, Wormtail."

"He's right Pads, we shouldn't have been eavesdropping."

"We weren't trying to where we? We were just here. What else could we have done?"

"Snivellus is such a nosey git."

"I know. Why can't he just keep his nose out of other people's business? And how dare he call Remus that!"

"Thank Merlin for Lily Evans!"

"Did you hear how horrible he was to her though? He's such a git!" Sirius said indignantly, "I say he deserves a good hexing!"

"What's new there?"

"Well, more so than usual."

"I couldn't agree more."


	4. Chapter 4

Lily was good at potions. Very good in fact. There was only one person in her year better than her and that was Severus Snape. They were in potions class now. Unfortunately, it was a lesson that Gryffindor shared with Slytherin. Unfortunately, she and Severus used to be friends. Unfortunately, Slughorn knew this. That was why they were currently working together, brewing a draught of peace.

When they got to a part of the recipe where the potion had to be left to simmer, Severus walked toward the supply cupboard at the front of the class.

"I'm going to get more asphodel" he muttered.

Lily nodded, not really listening. But, the more she thought about it, the more something seemed off. Then it hit her. There was no asphodel in the draught of peace! Her head snapped up, just in time to see Severus bump into James Potter, slipping something into his potion as he did. He came back to their cauldron, looking very smug. She ignored him. What had he put in James's potion? Was it dangerous? Knowing Severus, probably.

She stared at the cauldron, searching for any sign of danger. As she looked at it, it began to bubble violently and turn black. She realised what he had done. He'd put in extra moonstone. The draught of peace was, ironically, very difficult to make and any slight slip-up in brewing it could have disastrous consequences. Adding too much moonstone could make the potion explode and the fumes could send a person into a deep and possibly irreversible sleep.

Acting quickly, she shot a jinx at Potter and Black, throwing them away from the cauldron.

She then cast a shield charm around it, hoping it would protect them all from what was sure to be a rather large explosion. The commotion had caught the attention of Professor Slughorn, who wandered over to see what all the fuss was about, just in time to see the potion explode.

He turned to see Lily with her wand pointed towards it.

"Well done Miss Evans. That was very quick thinking indeed, you may have just saved these boys lives. Twenty points to Gryffindor." he turned to James and Sirius, "You really must pay better attention boys. If it hadn't been for Miss Evans, we all would have been in big trouble. You must be more careful to add the right quantities of each ingredient. Five points each from Gryffindor."

As Slughorn walked away, James said "Bet it was Snivellus, he must have put something in our potion when he walked in to me!"

"What a git. We'll get him back."

"Not now though. He's working with Evans."

"What are you against pulling pranks on her now or something? It's not going to make her like you more."

"No, but I think she deserves a break, she did just save our lives."

"That's true. Thank Merlin for Lily Evans."

"Agreed."


	5. Chapter 5

Cira Wilson was a first year Ravenclaw. Term had only started last week and she had still not gotten used to the huge castle. She was a muggle born, which made her a target for the older (usually Slytherin) students looking for a laugh. Unfortunately for her, she had gotten lost on her way back from class and wandered into one such group of Slytherins. All of them were future death eaters and all were older and more experienced than her. Not to mention, far taller. She continued on her way, trying not to show how intimidated she felt by them.

"You lost kid?" one of them sniggered.

"No, I'm fine thank you" she replied, knowing that if she ignored them, it would make it worse.

"We can help you." he jeered. This time, she didn't answer, and quickened her pace.

Before she knew what was happening, they had her surrounded with their wands drawn. She backed away until she was flat against the wall.

"I think the mudblood is being quite rude, don't you Dolahov?"

"I do. I think we should teach it a lesson."

Cira gripped her wand tightly, looking desperately around the empty corridor, searching for a way out. She could see none and they closed in on her.

She heard a shouted incantation and a nasty looking girl fell to the floor. They all turned to see James Potter, a fifth year Gryffindor, looking furious. She knew who he was, of course. Everyone knew him. He and his friend, Sirius Black were the 'popular kids' at Hogwarts, notorious for their rebelliousness and their grudge against Slytherins that went beyond house pride. What no one ever seemed to mention though, thought Cira, as she watched James Potter begin taking on the large group of students single-handedly, was their willingness to defend others.

He fired hex after hex at the group of Slytherins, some of which hit, some of them were blocked. Recovering from her fear, Cira used the destraction to slip out of the middle of the group. Sometimes it pays to be small, she thought.

She moved to where James was standing and began to fire what few offensive spells she knew and trying not to get hit.

James was a skilled dualist but there were a lot of Slytherins and he was clearly struggling.

"Go." he said to her shortly, focusing most of his energy on the battle.

"What?"

"Get out of here. You have no experience and you're going to get hurt."

She turned and ran. She didn't know what to do. Should she go and get a teacher? A prefect? One of James's friends? She couldn't just leave him.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she ran headlong into an older girl.

"Sorry." she mumbled, looking up. When she saw who it was she almost sobbed in relief. It was Lily Evans, a Gryffindor prefect. She could help her!

Lily was on her way back to the common room when a small first year ran into her. She was about to tell her to watch where she was going when she saw that she looked very upset.

"What's wrong?" she asked and the girl looked up at her with an expression that could only be described as pure relief.

"Lily Evans! Thank Merlin! I need your help. You see, there was this group of Slytherins and they attacked me but then James Potter saved me and they attacked him but there are too many of them and he needs help!" she blurted, stumbling over her words in an effort to get them out.

"Where?" Lily demanded.

"This way" the girl turned and lead Lily back to where James was still fighting.

Lily quickly assessed the situation. She could see that James was badly struggling by now and the intensity of the battle told her that she wouldn't be able to stop it on her own. She turned to Cira, "I want you to go and get Mcgonagall. Now." she ordered urgently. Cira nodded and hurried off to Mcgonagall's office.

Lily stepped forward, wand drawn. "Enough!" she shouted and was, not unexpectedly, ignored. She shouted "IMMOBULUS!" and everyone froze. Thankfully, a few moments later, Mcgonagall arrived.

After Mcgonagall had taken them back to her office and handed out the appropriate punishments, Lily and James walked back to the common room together.

"What were you thinking, starting a fight with all of those Slytherins? Of all the idiotic things to do! You could have ended up in the hospital wing!"

"Would you have preferred that I just let that poor kid get hexed? Would you have preferred I let her be the one in the hospital?"

She sighed "I guess not. But you need to be more careful about what you get yourself into. One day, you might get seriously hurt."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"James" Lily began nervously.

"I'm not going to apologise for-"

"Shut up. Just shut up and listen to me for two seconds! I...I just wanted to say that...I think what you did was really brave. Even if it was completely stupid."

James was stunned. "Thanks Lily." he mumbled.

She nodded and continued walking.

Before James followed her, he stood still for a moment and murmured to himself "Thank Merlin for Lily Evans."


End file.
